How A7X Got Their Names
by AllyWolfDragon
Summary: The funny and serious stories about how Matt Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, and The Rev got their stage names. R&R
1. Matt

How A7X got their names: Ch 1: Matt

The sun began to set as I walked towards home. I had a feeling that Mom and Dad would be worried about me, like getting mugged or beaten by the bully's from my high school, even though I was taller and older than them. Hopefully I wouldn't get in trouble for getting home "past curfew", especially since I had a great song idea stuck in my head. I didn't want to get it mixed up with a long talk about "safety". Really, so many things were going through my mind.

My buddies and I (Jimmy Sullivan, Brian Haner Jr, Zacky Baker, and a few other friends) had recently begun a band called Avenged Sevenfold, and we were about halfway through finishing our first album called _Sounding the Seventh Trumpet_. We loved it, except for the fact that we probably wouldn't become famous or anything.

But the main problem was that we hadn't thought of awesome stage names. Nobody would want to show up to a gig if we just used our own names. We had to think of something dark and creative.

But, as different ideas flashed through my mind, a menacing growl echoed from behind. Slowly turning around, my heart nearly stopped when I saw it: a giant, angry Great Dane by the name of Thomas. _What a stupid name to give to a dog_, I thought as it slowly took a step towards me, teeth bared, fur standing on end. And once it barked, I was already running.

"Crap,crap,crap,CRAP!" I whispered, praying that the animal would see a squirrel and take its eyes off of me. But no, because every time that I turned around, it would just be getting closer as I sprinted down the street. I turned the corner, nearly sliding on the gravel that led to the alleyway. Before I knew it, a giant wooden fence loomed before me. _Great_, I thought, hoping that I could jump the fence and end up behind the strip mall.

At the last possible second, I stretched my legs, reached up . . . and grabbed the top of the fence. It was big enough where Thomas wouldn't be able to reach me . . . but I wasn't strong enough to pull myself over the edge. I was officially dead. I put my feet on a ledge, watching below me as the dog stood on its hind legs, barking and snapping at my feet.

I laughed. "What now, you dumb animal?" But I was the dumb one, because I was stuck on this God damned fence.

Either it knew English, or was just super strong, because in one second, the fence and I were on the ground. Now, the only thing behind me was the brick wall, AKA, Kim's Nail Salon. And I wasn't going to run from this thing. I stood up. "What do you want? I can fight, you know!"

Then, Thomas took one look behind me, and was running down the street like I was only a few minutes ago. _What the hell?_ I turned around, almost and literally scaring myself with my own shadow. No, really. The light from the street lights made me look at least a few feet taller than I really was. I didn't really think about it, but then I had an idea for my stage name: M. Shadows.


	2. Zacky

How A7X got their names: Ch 2: Zacky

If _The Lazy Song _had come out when I was that age, then that would describe how I felt right now. I sat up in my bed and looked at my guitar. Maybe if I just messed around with the chords, I could get some inspiration for a new song. But then again, my dad would probably yell at me once I plugged the guitar into the amplifier.

You see, my parents got me the guitar for my birthday when I was younger, but they still hated it when I played it in the house. And where else was I going to play? Jimmy was the one who had the keys to the studio, AKA, his garage, and I couldn't go over there every time I wanted to rock out to my own music. "Then deal with it," I mumbled as I grabbed it by the neck, plugged in, and began to fill the house with the deep, heavy riffs of _Walk_ by Pantera.

It made me smile, the way that the instrument sat in my hands and how the music made my head naturally bob up and down. I almost imagined myself in front of thousands of screaming fans, playing our own music, watching out for bras and such flying on stage . . . until my dad burst through the door. "I thought I told you to turn that off!"

He nearly scared the crap out of me, but I caught the guitar before it could come crashing down on the carpet. "Jesus Christ! I'm sorry! I didn't hear you-"

"Because of that junk you're playing on that thing!" He unplugged it and stormed out, and then peeked his head back in. "And dinner's ready. Come downstairs right now."

The soft clinking of forks and knives hitting the plates was the only thing I heard as we ate. I decided to be the first one to break the silence. "Do we have any other plans for tonight?"

"Not that I know of, honey," Mom smiled, "Why?"

"Well, me and the guys were gonna go over


	3. Jimmy

How A7X got their names: Ch 3: Jimmy

Ms. Ryland's voice droned on and on during social studies. Her younger, high pitched voice somehow kept me staring at her, blankly. Maybe it was the lecture on the Black Plague in Venice, or the fact that most of the other guys in my class were staring at her boobs.

I smiled at the thought as I carefully slipped one of my notebooks out of my bag, opened it to a blank page, and began drawing . . . well, nothing really. Just little doodles. Skulls with bat wings fluttered across the paper while I carefully drew three angels inside of them. I turned their wings into those of dragons, and added claws on their hands and blood dripping from their eyes. Yeah, call me a sick person, but it was just one of my creative sides. Hell, creative doesn't even _begin_ to describe it. On one of the angels, I added something completely random: A fedora hat and the face of a Poveglian doctor's mask.

I was just starting to color in the hat when I noticed that the room had become completely silent and how I felt all twenty eyes staring at me. Ms. Ryland's shadow fell over my desk as I quickly closed the notebook. I couldn't help but glance back at her breasts as I made I contact with her. "Eyes up here pal." She whispered as I guiltily handed her the notebook. Ms. Ryland flipped to the page where I drew the angels and the skulls. "It seems that we have a little bit of an artist in the class. Why don't you go up to the front and tell the rest of the class about this little drawing of yours, James?"

_Oh, crap_, I thought as I headed to the chalk board. I could feel everyone staring at me, and I thought I saw Matt trying to hold in a laugh from the back of the classroom. _Ass_, I thought, glaring at him.

"Well, ladies and gentleman, this right here, on this paper of beastly-ness, is what happens when I don't feel like hearing about the black plague," I said as everyone snickered a bit. "In the middle is the . . . The Reverend Tholomew Plague. He and his army of fallen angels, along with their . . . Death bats, protect those who are _awesome_. Now, he did something to give himself this bad reputation. The Reverend killed his wife when they got into a big fight and she said that she didn't love him and never would again. He did as he pleased with here, most of it being very inappropriate, but she had other plans. She came back from the dead and killed him to get her revenge. She gave him a second chance, and they lived happily ever after."

The room was dead silent. I prayed that this wouldn't ruin my reputation at being cool, and at the same time I was thinking: _How in the living hell did I think of all of that?_

"Well, James, you may go back to your seat now." I could easily see that Ms. Ryland was shocked at my improvised story. "Now, going back to why Poveglia Island was built . . ."

My teacher continued to drone on and on, and I couldn't help but look back at Matt, who looked like he had just witnessed a murder. He mouthed the words: _stage name_. That's when I had the genius idea to have that as my Avenged Sevenfold name. The Reverend Tholomew Plague. The Rev, for short.


End file.
